Olympic Hopefuls and Paracanoe Athletes Flock to Poland

Maggie Hogan (San Diego, Calif.) and Kaitlyn McElroy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) wrapped up their successful weekend with a third place finish in the Women’s K-2 500m B Final. The Oklahoma City training partners turned in a time of 1:53.612, 1.264 seconds behind the race’s first place finisher.

Click HERE for results and startlists from the 2012 ICF Sprint World Cup No. 1 in Poznan, Poland, May 18-20.

In the Women’s K-1 200m C Final, Carrie Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) finished fourth with a time of 45.764, 1.016 seconds behind the race’s first place finisher.

In the Men’s K-1 200m C Final, Tim Hornsby (Atlanta, Ga.) and Ryan Dolan (Kailua, Hawaii) placed seventh and eighth, respectively. Hornsby finished with a time of 39.314, 0.112 seconds ahead of Dolan. The two paddlers turned in comparable times all weekend and will continue to compete against each other for the lone men’s sprint kayak Olympic spot at World Cup No. 2 in Duisburg, Germany, May 25-27.

William Irving, USA Canoe/Kayak National Teams Director: “Maggie and Kaitlyn are progressing in their paddling and, with a little more racing experience and time in the boat together, will be a very strong K2 to contend with. Coming away with the U.S. best results, Maggie and Kaitlyn will look to better this performance in Duisburg.”

Irving: “Carrie, Tim and Ryan just were not able to get their boats moving well this weekend and hope to learn from this experience and rebound in Duisburg. A few more days to get over the jet lag and each athlete should paddle much better against an even stronger field in Duisburg.”

In Women’s K-2 500m, Hogan and McElroy finished fourth in their heat and fifth in their semifinal to advance to Sunday’s B Final.

In Women’s K-1 500m, Carrie Johnson placed sixth in the B Final with a time of 2:03.523. Then, in Women’s 200m, Johnson finished fifth in her heat to reach the semifinal, where she placed sixth with a time of 44.760. She will race in Sunday’s C Final.

Ryan Dolan (Kailua, Hawaii) and Tim Hornsby (Atlanta, Ga.) were both unable to reach the A or B Finals and will have to continue racing at World Cup No. 2 (next weekend in Duisburg, Germany, May 25-27) to determine which athlete represents the U.S. in men’s sprint kayak at the 2012 Olympic Games. Both will race in Sunday’s C Final.

Dolan finished fourth in his heat to reach the semifinal, where he placed seventh with a time of 38.509. Hornsby placed sixth in his heat to reach the semifinal, where he finished seventh with a time of 38.497. Hornsby missed qualifying for the B Final by 1.024 seconds.

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FRIDAY RECAP:

In Women’s K-2 1000m, Maggie Hogan (San Diego, Calif.) and Kaitlyn McElroy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) finished second in their heat advancing directly to Saturday’s Final. The duo crossed the line in 4:01.238, 1.588 seconds behind the heat’s first place finishers from Poland.

The Oklahoma City training partners did what they needed to do to reach the 1000m Final, where they hope to earn a medal, but their focus is on the 500m Olympic event.

In Women’s K-1 500m, Carrie Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) finished fifth in her heat and fifth in her semifinal to reach Saturdays B Final. She turned in a semifinal run of 2:05.740, 1.228 seconds behind the race’s first place finisher from Great Britain.

Johnson got out to great starts in each of her runs, but was unable to carry the momentum through to the finish. Her quick starts bode well for the shorter 200m races on Saturday.

The Men’s K-1 200m racing begins Saturday afternoon (Poland-time) with the Finals set for Sunday morning, where Ryan Dolan (Kailua, Hawaii) and Tim Hornsby (Atlanta, Ga.) will compete against each other and the world for the chance to be named as the lone men’s sprint kayaker on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team.

QUOTES:

William Irving, National Teams Director: "The team has settled into a good rhythm early and hope to capitalize on all the hard work they have been putting in this winter."

Tim Hornsby, Men’s Kayak: “It has been an amazing journey since 2003 when I started seriously training for the Olympics. I am so happy with the entire process leading up to this point and feel like I have done everything I can to prepare for this event. I have no regrets. I am very excited to see what comes next for myself and the rest of the team in London.”

Joe Jacobi, USA Canoe/Kayak CEO: “Poznan brings a range of emotions and intensity this week to USA Canoe/Kayak. Anja claiming USA Canoe/Kayak’s first international medal of the year; Carrie tuning up for a run at an Olympic Medal in her third Games appearance; and the race between Ryan and Tim that will hopefully determine who will be the first American Men’s Kayak to represent the United States at the Olympic Games in the 200 meter event. It’s a very exciting step forward for the Olympic and Paralympic programs.”

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WHAT: 2012 ICF Sprint World Cup No. 1

WHERE: Poznan, Poland

WHEN: Friday-Sunday, May 18-20

WHY: Ryan Dolan and Tim Hornsby will compete against each other and the world for the chance to be named as the lone men’s sprint kayaker on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. The World Cup is the final Olympic selection event for U.S. sprint kayakers.

HOW: So long as either Dolan or Hornsby make at least the B Final, the athlete with the better finish earns the Olympic spot. If one athlete makes the A Final and the other the B Final, the Olympic spot will go to the athlete who qualified for the A Final, regardless of who finished with a better time in their respective finals.

Friday’s action begins with Carrie Johnson racing in the Women’s K-1 500m heats. Having already booked her ticket to London, Johnson is preparing for the Olympics by taking part in a few very competitive international races prior to the Olympics to gauge what she needs to work on between now and the Games.

Later Friday morning, the Oklahoma City-based tandem of Maggie Hogan and Kaitlyn McElroy will compete together in the Women’s K-2 1000m heats, a non-Olympic event. The duo will also compete in Saturday’s Olympic K-2 500m heats. The U.S. has not earned an Olympic slot in this event and the boat will be looking to put in a competitive result.

The Men’s K-1 200m racing begins Saturday afternoon (Poland-time) with the Finals set for Sunday morning.

Johnson earned the Olympic slot for Team USA with a Gold medal in the Women’s K-1 500m at the 2011 Pan American Games and clinched the spot for herself at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Oklahoma City on April 20. Dolan earned the Olympic slot for Team USA with a Bronze medal in the Men’s K-1 200m at the 2011 Pan American Games. Hornsby won the event at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials to force a race-off this weekend.

PARACANOE:

Thursday marked the end of the 2012 ICF Paracanoe World Championships. Although this event will not be part of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, it has been added to the program for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The paracanoe athletes representing the U.S. were selected at the 2012 U.S. National Team Trials in Oklahoma City on April 20-21. These athletes have a head start on being named to the inaugural U.S. Paralympic Canoe/Kayak Team in four years.

Leading the way is Anja Pierce, who earned a silver medal in Women’s V-1 LTA on Thursday. Pierce crossed the line in 1:10.828, 2.8 seconds after the first place finisher. Kelly Allen finished fourth in the Women’s K-1 LTA Final, missing the podium by 1.2 seconds. Allen advanced directly into Thursday’s Final round after winning her heat on Wednesday.

Ryan Padilla placed fourth in the Men’s K-1 A Final, finishing nearly four seconds behind the Bronze medal winner. Padilla also reached the Men’s V-1 A Final, but was disqualified. A former professional snowboarder, Padilla began paddling less than a year ago after a construction accident. Greg Crouse finished fifth in the Men’s V-1 LTA Final after placing second in Wednesday’s semifinal round

Ashley Thomas finished fifth in the Women’s K-1 TA Final. Dylan Brown placed sixth in the Men’s V-1 TA Final. Carol Rogers reached the Women’s K-1 A Final, but did not start the race. Joshua Wold and Danzig Norberg reached the semifinals of the K-1 LTA and K-1 TA, respectively. An Iraq War veteran, Wold has been paddling for less than two months.

USA Canoe/Kayak is a non-profit membership organization based in Oklahoma City, OK, promoting canoe and kayak racing in the United States. A member of the United States Olympic Committee, USA Canoe/Kayak is the national governing body for the Olympic sports of Flatwater Sprint and Whitewater Slalom and the official U.S. federation of the International Canoe Federation. Other paddling sports sanctioned by USACanoe/Kayak include Marathon, Freestyle, Wildwater, Stand Up Paddleboard, Canoe Polo, Canoe Sailing, Outrigger, and Dragon Boat. For more information about USA Canoe/Kayak, please visit us on the web at www.usack.org, on Twitter at @usacanoekayak and Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/USACanoeKayak.